1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a clamp attachment for use with a lift truck for handling rail car bogies.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
A preliminary patentability search in Class 294, subclasses 904 and Class 414, subclasses 607, 619, 620, 621, 622, 626, 629, 663, 664, and 912 disclosed the following patents which may relate to the present invention: Vik, U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,523 issued Apr. 15, 1969; Barry, U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,569 issued Sep. 15, 1970; Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,620 issued May 6, 1975; Perrott, U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,807 issued Mar. 20, 1984; Matthewson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,350 issued Jul. 15, 1986; Riley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,902 issued Apr. 22, 1986; Coe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,576 issued May 12, 1987; Cripe et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,516 issued Nov. 1, 1988; and Macmillan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,118 issued Aug. 28, 1990.
Vik discloses load clamping and lifting apparatus for materials handling equipment including a power operated apparatus adapted to be mounted upon a vehicle for clamping and articulating a load about a horizontal axis.
Barry discloses means to hold down, release and transfer cargo pallets, containers, or vehicles to vehicles for transportation or for storage and in particular to means to automatically hook a load down and to automatically release it when engaged.
Walker discloses a bumper, cable and/or grapple type pulpwood handling machine. The grapple is rotatably driven about a vertical axis to better position the pulpwood pieces. Additionally, the grapple normally swings freely about a horizontal axis; however, brake structure is included to selectively stabilize the grapple and its load or prevent swinging movement thereof about the horizontal axis.
Perrott discloses a wheeled trailer frame carrying unit attachment for a lift truck. The wheeled frame remaining after removal therefrom of a detachable cargo container is gripped by clamping mechanism of a carrying unit mounted on a lift truck, then raised above the ground nd pivoted from its normal horizontal position to a vertical position for transport to a multiple storage unit.
Matthewson et al discloses a method and apparatus for handling container chassis. It includes a pair of upper and lower laterally-spaced forks and a clamp-positioning means cooperating with the forks to rotate the forks and any chassis gripped thereby through 180 degrees.
Riley discloses a method and system for storing wheeled frames of detachable cargo container type trailers. The wheeled frame remaining after removal of the detachable cargo container, is gripped by clamping mechanism of a carrying unit mounted on a tractor or lift truck, then elevated above the ground and pivoted from its normal horizontal disposition to vertical position, and then transported to a multiple storage unit where it is deposited and retained in the vertical position removably in one of a plurality of compartments making up the storage unit.
Coe discloses apparatus and method for handling cargo container chassis. An attachment is provided for heavy duty forklift vehicles and the like and a method for its use to handle large elongate objects, particularly to lift, overturn, carry, stack and unstack truck trailer chassis designed to carry intermodal transport cargo containers.
Cripe et al discloses a rail bogie handling vehicle which includes equipment which has been added to a conventional hostler tractor. The added equipment includes a boom arm apparatus which is pivotally mounted to the tractor for movement from a stowed position adjacent the vehicle cab to a deployed position wherein it is resting upon and disposed across a fifth wheel coupling device of the tractor. The boom apparatus can be coupled to the rail bogie with a pick up shoe assembly. Then the boom apparatus can be lifted by elevating the fifth wheel coupling device so that the tractor can transport the rail bogie.
Macmillan discloses a system and apparatus for storage of wheeled trailer frames in horizontal stacks. The storage system includes a staircase-like support rack. The frames are stacked horizontally with their front ends supported by the rack and with their rear wheels nested.
As is known, rail-highway vehicles systems typically utilize separable rail car bogies. In such a system the rail car bogies are separable portions of so-called road railers or trailer trains, which run on the usual train rails and which include train wheels mounted on the ends of an axle which rollingly support the carriage of the rail car bogie. There is a king pin upstanding from the carriage and a cargo container which is carried by a pair of the rail car bogies. The cargo container has a socket into which fits the king pin so that the cargo container can be lifted from the rail car bogies by a crane or the like. Since the rail car bogies are left behind on the rail when the cargo containers are removed, typically there is a need for the bogies to be removed from the rails for the purpose of the bogies awaiting subsequent use thereof. Then when it is desired to use the bogies again, they must be replaced on the rails. It will be understood that the wheels of the bogies must be carefully and precisely aligned with the train tracks or rails in order to properly position the bogies on the rails. In addition, the difficulty of exactly positioning of the rail bogies by conventional means such as lift trucks, tractors, cranes or the like can be appreciated. Thus, for example, it was necessary to considerably maneuver the lifting apparatus such as the whole lift truck itself requiring great skill on the part of the operator of the lift truck.